apologies to matt damon. we ran out of time. "nightline" is next. >> tonight on ""nightline"" tharchs that put this football star behind bars in 2008. and tonight, o.j. takes the stand for the first time since his hotel room hold-up. will he go free again? who has more influence? snooki or the pope? we go inside clout, a company that put the number next to your face 37 and if it's high enough, fabulous perks await. and death on the hunt for gems and gold. tonight, eight miners look to strike gold at the ends of the earth.

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good evening. from the fans who cheered him from the buffalo bills to the droves awaiting his verdict in the 1995 murder trial, o.j. simpson is no stranger to crowds, cheers and jeers. and tonight, the embattled star finds himself in the public eye once again facing life in prison. but testifying on camera for the very first time. abc's neil karlinsky. >> reporter: watching o.j. simpson taking the stand, one hand left free, the other shackl shackled, it's hard to imagine this aging inmate is the same man who's been the symbol of a nation's racial divide. >> how old are you? >> 65. >> reporter: for all of

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simpson's escapades, troubled and tabloid mayhem, today marked the first time he's ever testified in any of his criminal cases. >> your voice was pretty loud in the room. >> my voice is always loud. >> reporter: simpson wound up convicted of robbery and kidnapping while trying to get back his own mementos. >> guilty. >> it was my stuff. i followed, what i thought was the law. my lawyer told me you can't break into a guy's room. i didn't break into anybody's room. >> reporter: simpson is in court to argue an age-old complaint that his lawyer did a terrible job defending him and that's why he's in prison today.

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>> if you had heard about a plea offer would you have taken that? >> i surely would have considered it. >> his attorneys hope to win simpson a new trial for this bungled sports memorabilia heist captured on camera in a las vegas hotel. >> we were just robbed at gun point by o.j. simpson. can you send police here, please? >> where are you? >> what room is this? what room is this? >> 1203. >> it's been 19 year since o.j. simpson, the heisman trophy winner and former star nfl running back turned actor seen here in "the naked gun" was accused of the brutal murders of his ex-wife nicole brown simpson and her friend ron goldman. >> we just received information that the person in that car is o.j. simpson and reportedly has a gun to hi head. >> 19 years since o.j. captiv e captivated the slow speed police

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chit of that now infamous white ford bronco. the proceeding dubbed the trial of the century, an event that was carried live, gavel to gavel on television, complete with a cast of characters straight out of a crime drama. who can forget kato, o.j.'s defense team, dubbed the dream team. >> if it doesn't fit, you must acquit. >> council, is there anything else we need to take up before i invited jurors to join us? >> and then the verdict that would cause millions to stop whatever they were doing, find television set and watch. >> we the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant not guilty of the crime of murder. >> the emotional reaction was matched outside. the verdict exposed a nation still divided along racial lines with many african-americans jubilant at the acquittal. >> i didn't see dha the evidence was strong enough. >> reporter: and others in shock at his release.

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>> oh, [ bleep ]. >> i was absolutely disgusted. >> reporter: after the mountains of evidence that had been levelled against him. the family of ron goldman, especially his sister kim sank in grief while the browns sat in shock. simpson's family cried for joy and the defendant who seemed stunned at first lip synced his thanks to the jury that set him free. in 1997, o.j. took the stand in a civil suit filed by the murder victims' families, but it wasn't on camera. he was found guilty for the wrongful death and battery of ronald goldman and the battery of nicole brown simpson. he was ordered to pay a $33.5 million penalty but his pension was protected under california law. then in 2007 came the book, if i did it. a supposedly imaginary account of how simpson might have committed the murders. simpson originally published the book with the division of rupert murdoch's fox corporation to the

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outrage of the goldman family who described it as a way to profit from a thinly veiled admission of murder. the book executive was fired and goldman won rights to the book and all the money it makes. fred goldman spoke tonight line in 2007. >> he's proven to the world for years that he thinks he can do whatever he wants. and the system has let him do it. >> he seemed almost anxious to talk, even joking about drinking too much the afternoon before the botched and bizarre robbery that put him behind bars. >> i had a joke that my doctor says i should never have an empty glass is what i would tell the waitress, you know? we were celebrating. >> reporter: famed trial attorney mark geragos watched simpson's long-awaited testimony today. >> i think so far today he looks a heck of a lot better than he did during the civil trial. today at least so far he's come off as fairly credible. >> years ago, there was concern

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that putting simpson on the stand could open him up to uncomfortable questions abhis past, but attorneys said the judge this week wouldn't allow it. >> i know people don't like to hear this, this case and this sentence, i think, are obvious payback for the acquittal in the case in l.a. >> today, simpson's life includes reading golf magazines and watching tv inside a 6 by 10 foot cell where he has a cell mate and uses the bottom bunk. >> you think he looks beat? >> a beaten man. the system beat him to death. >> his close friend says simpson is aging rapidly in his new life. >> what's his life in prison? >> his life is basically, he's working at the gym. he's in charge of the gym. he coached the baseball team.

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>> reporter: his testimony won't answer any of the old questions. it's just a las ditch attempt at freedom for a man who won't get his first shot at parole until he's 70. i'm neil karlinsky for "nightline" in las vegas. >> are you an influencer? inside the social network where clout is the key to cool. the great outdoors... ...and a great deal. thanks to dad. nope eeeeh... oh, guys let's leave the deals to hotels.com. ooh that one! nice. got it! oh my gosh this is so cool. awesome! perfect!

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>> likes, refweet tweets, favorites, does social media influence have any purpose other than making us feel good or bad ourselves? klout.com thinks so. it comes to a new qualifier of cool. bill weir is an 82. who are the most influential people in the world? let's see, frequently shirtless russian president vladimir putin is an 86, not bad. until you consider that frequently shirtless rapper lil wayne is a 94. warren buffett is a 90. but still lower than both justin bieber and lady gaga. and facebook executive cheryl

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sandberg is an 83. but also leaning in with that same score? swimsuit model kate upton. welcome to the world according to klout. if you use twitter or have opted in on facebook, you, too, have a klout score. a number that represents what your two cents are really worth. largely determined by this guy. >> reporter: what's your clout score? >> 72. >> i'm 82. how can i be more influencetial than you, joel? >> joel fernandez had jaw surgery a few years back, couldn't talk for three months and had to rely on social media to communicate. it was then he realized when it came to, say, picking a mexican restaurant, some people on twitter deserved more credit than others. so he had the lightbulb moment to create a social media perk system. the kind he witnessed as a kid growing up in vegas watching his dad manage the high roerls in caesar's palace.

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>> people realize they get benefits, but never for their ability to share that information with the world. and social media is what makes that possible. >> measure how many likes and retweets we all get every day. >> i wanted to to see how high i could get the score just ref referring to bacon. >> reporter: her dream, not so farfetched. >> perks go from free dessert to a ship to seattle to free use of a chevy bolt.

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>> if i'm a klout influencer, am i obligated to pitcher it to everybody in my stream? >> absolutely not. you could say you loved the chevy bolt, you can say you hate it, you can say nothing. you're influential about cars and we trust you to tell the story like it is. >> joel imagines the day when your klout store will automatically prompt an usher to pull you out of line and take you to a vip area or a hotel to upgrade your room. so they've created a new form of currency, which only works if we all agree on what that currency is worth. does snooki really earn ab87 while doris kearns goodwin is a 60? >> well, it depends on if you're looki looking for. am i as influential as pope francis?

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but shouldn't president obama have a higher score than the los angeles dodgers? because today he doesn't. and tomorrow, who knows. >> you say you're changing the algorithm all the time. >> social in general is changing every month. we need to be ahead of that curve. >> reporter: it all seems so random and arbitrary. maybe the shrewdest part is if you put a number next to a person, ego takes over. >> what do you say to the person who thinks that this is really kind of creepy. this is a whole other treadmill i have to go on. i have to tweet while i'm on vacation, or i'm going to lose my status. can't we allust scoring

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each other. >> the i dee of klout is to help every person understand their influence and to be recognized for it. and people can obsess about it as little or as much as appropriate to them. >> so if you want to success or even cheat to get your klout score a little higher, bonnie has a great tip. if you tweet a baby monkey riding a dog or any kind of cute animal doing anything -- >> klout steroids. >> thanks to bill weir for that. by the way, "nightline's" klout score, 84. next, we're going to meet eight men who put their loves on the line for a chance at striking it rich. ♪ [ male announcer ] start with a dodge dart. now give it a "tiger shark" engine and 41 mpg. good. now add some of this. and that. definitely him. and her. a little more of her. perfect. time out. how we doin'? [ car accelerating ] okay, let's take it up a notch. give it a heap of this, one of those, and that.

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for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband, the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself. we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of tim and laura. it's amazing how appreciative people are when you tell them they could save a lot of money on their car insurance by switching to geico...they may even make you their best man. may i have the rings please? ah, helzberg diamonds. nice choice, mate. ...and now in the presence of these guests we join this loving couple. oh dear... geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

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it's a trip to the ends of the earth for a deadly search for riches. but on ice cold gold, risking it all, the fantasy is anything but make believe. abc's lindsay daifts.

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>> really be careful on every step you take. >> reporter: to what length would you be willing to go? >> my god, wow. >> reporter: if there were a remote possibility that you could strike it rich. emphasis on remote. >> this is a good place to look for gold. it's a good place to die, too. >> reporter: eluding deaths is a part of the challenge. but the thrill is that here in greenland with its rugged terrain and frigid temperatures, they could just unearth a jackpot. some believe earth shattering deposits of gold and gems lie somewhere in this pristine, majestic, yet unforgiving landsca landscape. but is as the earth's temperature increases, melting away' i don't knows of glacial activity, newly created rocks create prospects for prospect prospectors. animal planet's "ice cold gold" spotlights a team of exka gay vors, drillers and geologists.

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>> they're big characters, big personalities. there certainly was some conflict between us. >> reporter: josh feldman and his brother jesse left their families and the familiarity of arizona behind to risk their lives in this entirely new landscape at the top of the world. >> it was digger than we could have imagined. you can look at it on paper and say we can cover that, we're strong we're tough, we're men. and then you get out there and you realize tough doesn't work in greenland. >> reporter: mining is a time-consuming fro sesz anywhere, especially here. >> the gold is going to be 40 feet under your feet in between all these bolders. >> reporter: and with winter fast approaching, they have only six weeks to hit pay dirt or face the prospect of going home empty handed. >> there's no gold in this sand. and the clock is tick, fast. very fast. before you know it, you're done. >> there could be a ton of gold right there, that's the reality. >> reporter: in creeks, in crevices, in caves. they test, sift and pain stakingly pan for gold again --

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>> didn't fill any bags with samples. >> -- and again, of b to no avail. >> there was no gold. >> but there are occasional flickers of hope. >> my friend, we have gold. >> yes! yes! >> it may be a little piece of gold but it's a huge bees of hope. >> look at this, i got three more right here. >> it will take much more than that for this trip to pay off. >> if i go empty handed, it would be devastating. >> reporter: but this is far from the california gold rush. >> you can't go to greenland and be rambo. it doesn't work. greenland is just bad ass. >> it is certainly risky. but then again, no risk, no reward. that's what they're banking on, that in the end, it will all pan out. for "nightline," i'm lindsay davis in new york. >> "ice cold gold" airs sundays on animal planet. now tonight's "closing argument" today, president obama